Author(s)

K. Winson-Geideman

Abstract

Savannah, Georgia is an outstanding example of a city with well-preserved building stock and a successful tourist economy, a position that many other communities would like to replicate. The purpose of this research is to preliminarily explore the evidence that links historic preservation with increased tourism expenditure using statistics and data acquired from several sources. Results support the symbiotic relationship between historic preservation and tourist expenditures. Keywords: historic preservation, heritage tourism, institutional growth, adaptive reuse, Savannah Georgia, Historic Savannah Foundation, Savannah College of Art and Design. 1 Introduction The City of Savannah, located in the State of Georgia in the United States, holds several titles, including the oldest planned city in the US, the top tourist attraction in the state, and the location of the South's first public art museum, the Telfair Museum of Art. More importantly, a 1.1 square mile section of the city is the largest National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) in the country, the highest district level awarded by the US National Park Service. Savannah earned this title partly because of its unique, well preserved city plan and historic building stock. In addition to the NHLD, there are no fewer than seven other historic districts, each representing a different era with its own distinct style of architecture and development pattern. While Savannah is truly a unique city, its recent economic success belies the fact that it once suffered from many of the same problems that affect older cities

Keywords

historic preservation, heritage tourism, institutional growth, adaptive reuse, Savannah Georgia, Historic Savannah Foundation, Savannah College of Art and Design.